Rockwell Collins reached a deal with US Airways for provision of its WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection System and other avionics for A320s and A330s. System features advanced radar and weather assessment capabilities.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines placed an order yesterday for four 737-800s valued at about $320 million plus two options, bringing to 12 the number of Boeing aircraft it has ordered this year as it attempts to modernize its aging fleet.
Lufthansa Technik and EADS EFW signed a two-year agreement to expand cooperation in conversion and modification of Airbus aircraft. Closer collaboration with cockpit upgrades and freighter conversion is aimed at new markets.
American Airlines and Aircell yesterday tested their inflight Internet product on two 767-200 flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles, while the carrier announced that its fourth-quarter capacity cuts will include cessation of service at eight airports.
Lufthansa Systems will provide its NetLine technology to Braathens Aviation subsidiaries Transwede Airways and Malmo Aviation under a five-year deal. Technology is expected to accelerate fleet and crew planning processes and boost revenue.
Armavia launched a daily Yerevan-Moscow Sheremetyevo frequency, its fourth daily flight to the Russian capital. Aer Arann and Aer Lingus will interline on the former's five-times-daily flights between Cork and Dublin and the latter's US services.
Qantas engineers are expected to take further industrial action Friday after rolling stoppages across Australia caused the cancellation of 34 of the approximately 350 flights QF operates each day. The cancellations affected the major markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Assn. challenged Qantas management by stating that the next move belonged to the airline. Union President Paul Cousins told media he hoped the pay dispute standoff would end soon.
Chinese airlines carried 15.4 million passengers in May, down 1.1% year-over-year, as the devastating Sichuan Province earthquake and surging oil prices impacted demand, according to CAAC. Air China passenger boardings dropped 10.7% to 2.7 million and load factor fell 4.5 points to 71.3%, which CA attributed to the earthquake and the dedication of some capacity to relief efforts. China Eastern Airlines saw passenger numbers plunge 8% to 3 million. Operating expenses rose with fuel prices.
US Airways and Air China signed a codeshare agreement that will put the US code on CA flights to Beijing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York JFK, plus some connecting flights to Shanghai, while CA will put its code on US service from LAX and SFO to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Air Mauritius Group returned to profit in its most recent fiscal year, posting €17 million ($26.4 million) in earnings in the 12 months ended March 31 compared to a €6.7 million loss in the prior year. Yesterday, the carrier also announced that current shareholders including the Mauritius government reached agreement with British Airways to purchase its 10.5% stake in the airline for £3.2 million ($6.3 million). BA had held the stake, comprising a 13.24% share of Air Mauritius Holding Co. and a 3.84% share in Air Mauritius Ltd. since 1973.
Aer Lingus flew 1.53 billion RPKs in May, up 18.7% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 25.3% to 2.01 billion ASKs, dropping load factor 4.2 points to 76.1%.
Boeing moved a 787 designated for fatigue testing from the final assembly line in Everett, Wash., to another production bay at the facility to complete assembly and start fatigue test preparation. Another 787 already is undergoing structural testing. The move paves the way for the second flight-test airplane to advance to the next position in the production line.
UPS issued a profit warning yesterday, projecting earnings per share for the second quarter of $0.83-$0.88, down from the $0.97-$1.04 per share originally anticipated. It cited "slow US economic growth and an unprecedented increase in the cost of fuel," resulting in lower US package volume than expected and an "accelerating contraction in the use of premium air products."
Alaska Airlines flew 1.62 billion RPMs in May, up 2.2% year-over-year, against a 1.3% increase in capacity to 2.08 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 0.7 point to 77.8%. Unit revenue climbed 1.7% to 11.64 cents. It is forecasting a 1.2% year-over-year increase in second-quarter capacity to 6.2 billion ASMs and a 1.2% hike in full-year capacity to 24.5 billion ASMs. Second-quarter unit cost is expected to rise 11%-12% to 11.5-11.6 cents. It also said it expects to incur a charge of approximately $30 million this quarter related to the retirement of two leased MD-80s.
United Airlines said it will furlough 950 pilots, about 14% of its flight deck workforce, blaming "high oil prices and a softening US economy." In a message to workers, UA management explained that its previously announced plan to cut 100 aircraft from its mainline fleet by the end of 2009 ( ATWOnline, June 5) led to the decision to eliminate 950 pilot positions, which are in addition to 1,400-1,600 salaried and management positions that it also has said it will cut.
Chinese government last week raised the domestic fuel price more than 25% to CNY7,450 ($1,082) per ton, which China Securities aviation analyst Li Lei reported would lead to a CNY3.6 billion increase in annual expenses for China Southern Airlines--which operates the largest domestic network--a CNY1.8 billion rise for Air China, CNY2.2 billion for China Eastern Airlines and CNY700 million for Hainan Airlines. However, Li said the increase will not have a significant influence on second-quarter financial performance, as yuan appreciation will continue to drive profits.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey decided that the best form of defense is attack and warned that some airlines face imminent shutdown because of soaring fuel prices. Three weeks ago Godfrey was forced to defend Blue from reports that it risked bankruptcy ( ATWOnline, June 6). JP Morgan, author of the possible scenarios that prompted the press speculation, later clarified that it did not believe Blue faced bankruptcy.
Motorola will provide Lufthansa Technik with its RFID solution for tracking components. Technology reads EPC UHF tags and is expected to reduce manual data entry and accelerate the repair process.
A significant swing to the red in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 helped drag India's Jet Airways to a full-year loss of INR2.53 billion ($58.9 million), a reversal from the INR280 million profit it reported in the year ended March 31, 2007, and its JetLite subsidiary suffered even heavier losses.
Airbus began transporting A320 segments from Hamburg to the new Tianjin FAL, where the first aircraft (headed for Sichuan Airlines) will be assembled starting in August for delivery in the first half of next year. Airbus will hold 51% of the Tianjin joint venture with the Chinese Industry Consortium comprising the Tianjin Free Trade Zone, AVIC I and AVIC II holding the remainder.
Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines pilots reached a tentative agreement yesterday with DL management on a joint contract, a major milestone in the carriers' planned merger.
Sudan government grounded flag carrier Sudan Airways and suspended its operating certificate yesterday for breaching unidentified rules and noncompliance, according to widespread press reports from Khartoum. A civil aviation authority official was quoted as saying the grounding was for "an undefined period" and was unrelated to the A310 accident that killed at least 30 two weeks ago ( ATWOnline, June 12).
